How to Make Coffee with a French Press

I'm a big time coffee fan but stop just short of being one of those snobs.

However, I've always wanted to brew up my own coffee instead of the usual drip method used by coffee pots - this is why I went out and purchased a French Press. This allows me to make coffee as fast as I need, delicious as possible and adds a bit of fun to the entire process!

Don't be intimidated, using a French Press to make coffee is easier than it sounds.

This hub will show you how to get started in brewing your own delicious coffee and making it using the press.

What You'll Be Working With

Coffee machines are getting expensive these days and there's no real need for them besides the convenience of brewing up large pots at a time.

A French Press, on the other hand, is perfect for single servings and can even be used to make espressos and other coffee drinks depending on your coffee beans and what you add to the drink.

On the right, you'll find a few of the items you'll need to get started with making coffee with a French Press. In all, you'll only be spending about $20 - $50 for a good setup.

I recommend purchasing a coffee bean grinder so you can get the full flavor but you can certainly go with your can of coffee that's probably already sitting around.

Gather up your supplies

Get your water (almost) boiling

Add your coffee grinds

Pour it.

Press it!

Making Coffee with a French Press

Okay, here we are, the actual steps in making coffee with a French Press.

In the example pictures, I used my bag of coffee I recently purchased from Ikea but otherwise I would recommend grinding your own beans so you can get the full flavor.

It's easiest if you take everything out at once so you don't go back and forth, scrambling, while you make your coffee. Set everything up and let's get started.

Step 1: Get water (almost) boiling

Grab a small pot and fill it with cold water. Place the pot on the stove and crank up the heat so the water begins to boil but stop it right before it starts to roll.

If you end up pouring super boiling water into your coffee grinds than it's going to have a burnt taste - you want to have the water just hot enough to pull out the flavor of your beans but not enough to scorch them.

Step 2: Add your coffee in the press

Pretty simple, just add however much coffee you want into your French Press.

I recommend a scoop but you can go more depending on how strong you like your coffee (I like mine pretty strong, for the most part). You can always add less and remember that you're making a single serving so there's no need to add 2 - 3 scoops - use just enough.

Step 3: Add in your water

Take your water off the stove and carefully pour it into your coffee press (containing the grinds). Pour it slowly so you don't hurt yourself and then immediately place the top press into the container but don't push down on it just yet.

Let the water pull out the flavor of the coffee by letting it stand for about a minute. While you're waiting, make sure the stove is off and put away whatever you're no longer using.

Step 4: Press it!

Now the fun part: Press the coffee plunge - SLOWLY - down on your press.

Don't push too hard else you may break your French Press but do it enough to where you're pushing pressure on the grinds so that the water is forced through it consistently.

Once the plunge is at the bottom, you could raise it and do it one more time else you're ready to enjoy your coffee ... speaking of that ...

Step 5: Enjoy!

Fill up your favorite mug (I'm using a foam cup for now) and add any other spices or flavoring you may want with your coffee.